CHRONICLES I

Resurrected from the ashes and remains of the ELOY that led millions of fans all over the world to insanity and worshipping until 1984 where disbandment and separation took over, the eloquent German band now reduced to a duo, decided to continue the project and put together a sequel CD album, "Chronicles Part I and II". Integrally, this compilation was destined to satisfy the requests and to fulfill the expectations of the fans, giving them a fine piece of work that condensed original recordings from their favorite productions of the past such as "Ocean", "Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes", "Time to Turn" and songs from their latest album those days, "Destination". All the songs were chosen by lead singer guitarist Frank BORNEMANN. This choice, mainly based on feedback from the public; was reflected on this incommensurable fan response. This massive response, gave Frank BORNEMANN and Michael GERLACH the final push to take on this challenge.

Considering myself a loyal and devoted follower of psychedelic and space progressive rock, rather art work when describing the sound of ELOY; I think of "Part I" to this saga of 2 CDs, as the most signifying because it contains the purist and original sound of the band during the latter half of the 70's and the early years of the 80's when musical massacre, or "pop rock", hadn't altered the foundations of the German band and many others in consequence. Recordings such as "Poseidon's Creation" and "The Apocalypse" maintained the elementary substance in spite of being re-recorded and mixed, but got improved in sound quality and empowered with a punchier essence. The rest of the yesterday recordings, apart from "Spirit in Chains", an unreleased title recorded in 1992 during the production of "Destination"; complete this ten episodes first chapter just marvelously. I particularly enjoyed the arrangements made to "Mysterious Monolith" and "Illuminations".

The extra features included in this album, are represented throughout the paintings for the covers of previous ELOY productions such as "Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes" and "Colours" by Winfried REINBACHER, "Ocean" by Wojtek SIUDMAK, "Ra" and "Destination". And finally, "Chronicles" should give you the chance to re-live ELOY's classics in an update sound, adequate to modern expectations. So relax, put your headphones on and surrender to the sound of ELOY.

The Krautrock snob in me has a bad habit of sometimes looking down his nose at the more traditional models of German Progressive Rock: TRIUMVIRAT, NOVALIS, WALLENSTEIN et al. And unfairly, too, since the best Continental proggers offered a refreshing alternative to the sometimes stiff upper lips of their better known English role models.

But the music of ELOY is and always was a textbook guilty pleasure. The band was one of the most popular German exports in Prog Rock's pre-Punk golden age, so why does their heavy guitar and synth sound always call to mind a Teutonic variation of SPINAL TAP? Maybe it's the enthusiasm of their recycled arena-rock clichés (flying V guitars, laser light shows). Or the grade school cosmic surrealism of their album cover art. Or maybe it's band leader Frank Bornemann's weakness for epic pseudo-fantasy subject material, spinning more than one concept album around the mythical lost continent of Atlantis (compare that to the Tap's hastily aborted Stonehenge song-cycle...remember the dancing dwarves?)

All joking aside, Eloy was actually a chip off the fossilized post-"Dark Side" PINK FLOYD block, but with a higher level of energy and musicianship than anything the latter-day, Roger Water's-led Floyd could ever hope to muster. Listen to Bornemann's pitch- perfect plagiarism of a Dave Gilmour guitar solo in "Time to Turn", or the relentless juggernaut of "Poseidon's Creation", the pace-setting curtain opener of this compilation, and a tough act for any space rocker to follow.

This generous 1993 collection (clocking in at over 80 minutes) is one of a new breed of greatest hit packages, not merely remixed but entirely re-recorded, with old band members brought in to reprise their instrumental roles alongside the surviving Eloy duo of Bornemann and keyboardist Michael Gerlach. It's probably a better introduction to the group than some of their old, original recordings, although the squeaky-clean luster of the new, all-digital production lacks the natural warmth of the analog originals.

I myself bought a copy simply to refresh my failing memory of a band once represented in my High School record collection by several now forgotten albums. Hearing all those pounding chords again, and trying to decipher those gloriously dopey lyrics (sung, like a lot of German bands, in imperfect English) **, reminded me of why I must have discarded my Eloy albums in the first place.

But it also helped to re-establish a valuable, long-missing link to my precocious post- adolescence. And a guilty pleasure is, at the end of the day, still a pleasure. "Chronicles II", the companion volume of more recent Eloy songs, appeared in 1994.

** (A random sample: "Mysterious monolith you hide the truth...be my guiding light, and be my proof...")

Enjoy the groove!

The CD starts with the band's classic track from legendary album Ocean (1977) "Poseidon's Creation '93" (11:28). It's really a good decision that this attractive track was put as opener as once the CD is spun, it produces good music groove and rhythm section. The intro part comprises relatively long (approximately 5 minutes) keyboard and guitar exploration augmented with groovy rhythm section combining bass guitar and dynamic drumming. The vocal line enters the music when it's approaching 5th minute. The part when the vocal enters the music is really good and it has a memorable composition. I enjoy this opening track really well as I like the vocal characteristics and the keyboard-based composition. In a similar vein, the music moves into second track "The Apoclypse '93" with, again, good melody and music textures that remind me to symphonic music. I like the part when the music finishes the first lyrical part when organ inserts its sound (approx min 1:40) followed by musical beats and guitar solo. The bass lines are also good. The music sounds like floating with its ambient from guitar and keyboard sounds and tight bass lines.

"Silhouette '93" continues the grooves with upbeat music and unique vocal quality of Frank Bornemann. He also adds nice guitar solo mixed thinly - probably to reduce distorted sound. "Mysterious Monolith" opens with a nice combination between guitar fills and keyboard sound followed with a powerful vocal in this quiet passage. The music flows in a slow tempo with obvious bass guitar work. The keyboard then enters the music smoothly followed with some effects. Bass guitar provides a transition that brings the music into a little bit faster tempo exploring the works of keyboards. Guitar is used as rhythm section. The keyboard exploration in the middle of the track is simple and melodic. The break with bass guitar solo augmented with keyboard sound effects provide a spacey and futuristic nuance.

"Sphinx '93" (6:22) sounds familiar with my ears as I knew this tract for the first time when I purchased "Planets" album. "End of an Odyssey '93" is one of my favorite tracks from Eloy. In fact this was one of candidates to be played on air during my broadcast program in "Saturday Night Rock" last night at local FM radio station. I chose "Through A Somber Galaxy" at the end, from the same album "Time To Turn". It's interesting to have a very long keyboard solo (approx 4 minutes) combined with nice bass lines and drum work. It's very captivating for my ears. It's simple but it's memorable and not boring at all. When vocal line enters at minute 5, the music flows nicely in slow tempo. I do enjoy this track especially during my driving time. It's an excellent track.

Overall, I give a full three stars rating on its songwriting (melody and composition) with good music textures and excellent performance. The vocal line is also excellent. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

I wish every compilation albums would be of this genre. Usually, such albums are only a collection of the "greatest" songs of a band. Hopefully organized chronologically. At times (guess why), an unreleased or rare song will be added to seduce the fans.

With "Chronicles I", the band did much better. "Eloy" re-recorded these songs which gives a fresher angle, a more modern sound and better arrangements. A great idea and so much better than a usual compilation (as "Mostly Autumn" has also done with their great "Catch The Spirit").

The endless question of the tracklist will always be a point of discussion of course. And even if it is Bornemann who decided it, I would have liked more songs from "Ocean" and "Silent Cries & Mighty Echoes". These albums do belong to the best of "Eloy" IMHHO.

But the two songs from these albums are just phenomenal. An incredible journey in their spacey music. The versions for "Poseidon's Creation" and "The Apocalypse" are sublime. Much better than in the original work. As such, their are brightly shining. The two indisputable highlights from this album.

"Poseidon" is a psychedelic jewel. Rather hard-rocking as well. But this was how "Eloy" still sounded in the mid late seventies (the period I prefer in their career). Wonderful guitar break after the long intro . Gilmour is very close my friend. But "Floyd" has always been a major influence. I like very much the drumming in this number. But English vocals did not really improve much over the time. This will always remain their weakness, but we'll get some great synth parts (fully Banks oriented) to compensate.

"The Apocalypse" is IMO the song that benefits the most of this new life. It is my preferred track of this brilliant compilation. More guitar oriented than "Poseidon", it has a similar structure (long instrumental intro as well). The second part is just a jewel with great female vocals that can be compared to the ones from Clare Tory during "A Great Gig" on DSOTM. A masterpiece.

"End Of An Oddyssey" is very much Floydian as well. Also the best one from "Time To run" (but there won't be many). Another highlight. The long instrumental intro (five minutes) is a great musical moment. A pouring rain of synths of the best vein.

The unrealised song "Spirit In Chains" is much more than a fan's trap. This excellent song is a mix of "Yes" (vocals) and "Tull" (flute of course). It was a leftover of the "Destination" album. I really wonder why the band did not include it on this album. "Spirit In Chains" is one of the few good songs from these sessions. It could have easily replaced "Jeanne d' Arc" IMO. A very good idea to include it here, although I really don't like this marketing technique.

Only a few blunders like "Silhouette" which was released on "Colours". I was never enthusiast about this album. Still, the good news is that the best track from "Colours" is again featured here : "Illuminations" which is a mix of "Floydian Genesis" (whatever this may mean). The second (and last) blunder is "Say It Is Really True".

Since all the long songs are good (from the spacey "Mysterious Monolith", the Genesis like "Shinx") to excellent, I will rate this effort with four stars. A great entry point to start your "Eloy" discography and then build on around it (with "Inside", "Ocean" and "Silent Cries".

Here is a compilation that is actually of interest to both existing and potential new fans, because it provides newly recorded versions of very well chosen material from Eloy's classic 1977-1982 period. The production is deliciously loud and punchy, and the presence of old buddies Klaus Peter Matziol, Hannes Arkona, Hannes Folberth, Fritz Randow also makes it a reunion of sorts.

The selection of one long track of each of "Ocean" and "Silent Cries..." was judicious, and the rest of the album showcases classic early 80s material that fans might have unwisely bypassed. In particular the two tracks from Planets show their true colours if you will. "End of an Odyssey" really rocks too, and the version of "Silhouette" is more concise and spacey. "Time to Turn" cranks up the synthesizers to a whole other level. In fact the only real shortfall is the outtake from the awful "Destination" that could have only fit on that particular album. If it was meant to underscore how far Eloy had fallen then the intention was fully realized.

Not only is "Chronicles 1" worthwhile on its own merits but it is likely the impetus for the release of two subsequent original recordings in the mid to late 1990s that appealed to old fans while exploring new areas. Recommended for chronic aficionados and those wanting to start a tentative exploration of Germany's most prolific symphonic prog band.

I was quite impressed with Eloy's Ocean, Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes, and Time to Turn, giving all three of them four stars each here at Prog Archives. But when I came across Chronicles I, I was quite intrigued. Instead of releasing a greatest hits compilation, Bornemann brought back some former Eloy members to re-record their greatest hits. Apparently Bornemann thought the original recordings from the 1970s were of low quality compared to the technology of the day (back in 1993), and wanted them to be represented in the light of newer recording technology. How's that for dedication?

I suppose some die-hard fans would cringe at such activities (remember Alan Parson's remixing of his debut album?), but I'm open to artists rehashing their old stuff to either make the original better performed or recorded with better quality. However, it has to be done right. One has to not only improve the song, but maintain it's original feel and energy. Otherwise, it might be best to just make another live album where you can experiment to your heart's desire, either improving them, or in most cases, totally ruining them.

Bornemann appears to be pretty crafty at this, as Chronicles I just blew me away. The improved quality on Poseidon's Creation and The Apocalypse alone are worth the price of getting this album, not to mention a series of incredible re-recordings of material taken from the Colours, Planets, and Time to Turn albums. All of this stuff was taken from Eloy's apex, 1977-1982.

Bornemann with his cohort, Michael Gerlach, are joined by former members Klaus-Peter Matziol, Hannes Arkona, Hannes Folberth, and Fritz Randow. Also included are drummer Nico Baretta and on the flute, Lenny MacDowell. Female backing vocalists add some excitement to Time to Turn and The Apocalypse.

This masterpiece compilation of re-recordings is a must-have for Eloy fans and also a highly recommended introduction for listeners looking to hear Eloy for their first time. Easily five stars.

Reuniting to revisit the good old days

In the early 1990's, Eloy were in reality the duo of Frank Bornemann and Michael Gerlach together with other guest musicians as required. The 1992 release of the album "Destination", prompted the band's record label to re-release the Eloy back catalogue on CD. According to band leader Bornemann, he felt obliged to respond to fans observations that while Eloy's best music was on their earlier alums, the later ones sounded so much better due to technological advances.

Bornemann therefore decided to re-record tracks from some of those early albums, the selections being driven by polls of band favourites and feedback during touring. Two releases were planned under the "Chronicles" banner, this the first covering the period from 1977 ("Ocean") to 1982 ("Time to turn"). This means that the period from the band's inception up to "Dawn" in 1976 is bypassed completely. A quick look at the band's page on this site though does indeed confirm that Eloy's halcyon day's are captured by this compilation. Also included on this album is a track recorded for "Destination" but not included on it.

In a further effort to ensure that this project was considered authentic a fine selection of former members of the band were brought in for these recordings on a guest basis. We are not told explicitly that those ex-members play again on the tracks they were originally involved in recording, but it would seem to be a reasonable assumption to make.

In an obvious effort to emphasise that this project will lean towards the band's prog credentials, the set opens with two of their epic tracks; "Poseidon's creation" ("Ocean") and "The apocalypse" ("Silent cries..") both of which run to over 11 minutes.

There are plus and minus points to the collection as a whole. On the plus side, there is no doubt that these recordings are technically superior to those on the original albums. Remastering and remixing could however done a lot to improve them too. The general sound of the tracks would have been much more contemporary when the album was released in the early 1990's, but today that updating is less apparent, since things have moved on again in the intervening period. The main downside is that the tracks are taken out of context. Having a quarter of the "Ocean" album is all very well, but that album really demands to be heard as a complete whole. To do so means reverting to the original recordings for the other 3 tracks.

The previously unreleased track "Spirit in chains" fits in reasonably well, although it comes from a different era to the other tracks, and as such has more of an AOR feel.

Not an essential acquisition for those who have the original albums, but this will be of interest to devotees of Eloy, and is a useful way for those unfamiliar with the band to get a taste of what they are about.

Spirit in chains

This is a compilation, but it is not an ordinary compilation. What is unusual about it is that it features re-recorded versions rather than the original album versions of some of Eloy's best songs from the period 1977 to 1982. The five original studio albums being represented are Ocean, Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes, Colours, Planets and Time To Turn. The songs are presented in roughly chronological order, beginning with Poseidon's Creation that originally opened Ocean. The arrangement is the same as the 1977 version, but the sound here is that of the early 90's. I would have hoped for improved vocals (less German accent), but it actually stays very close to the original. Great song nonetheless! Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes is represented by The Apocalypse. This song (or the album) was never a favourite of mine and this re-recorded version does not change that. Colours and Planets are represented by two songs each. These new versions have their charms, but they are neither better nor worse than the old versions overall. My all time favourite Eloy album Time To Turn is represented by three great songs. Again, these new versions, though great, add very little to the originals. To add interest for the fans and collectors, there is one previously unreleased song called Spirit in Chains. This songs does not have the same feel as the classics and is more representative of the 90's era of the band. It is not bad, but not very interesting either despite a rather nice Jethro Tull-like flute solo!

This is actually not a bad introduction to 70's Eloy, and for me it even competes with some of the studio albums from which the original songs were taken (especially as some of these 70's albums were far from perfect). However, for those who already have all of these studio albums, this compilation does not add that much of extra value. Besides, this particular reviewer is partial towards the early 80's Eloy of Planets and especially Time To Turn and would advise the beginner to start there as this compilation only offers a taste of Eloy's best.